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John Riggs Murdock (1826-1913)
}} Biography John Riggs Murdock (September 13, 1826 – November 12, 1913) was the leader of the most Mormon pioneer down-and-back companies in Latter-day Saint history, leading ox-drawn wagon trains that carried both merchandise and passengers "down and back" from Missouri to Utah. The son of famous Mormon Pioneer John Murdock (1792-1871), he not only led several down-and-back companies but also served several missions in the eastern United States. He was also a prominent leader of the church in Beaver, Utah. Early Life Murdock was born in Orange, Ohio to John Murdock and Julia Clapp Murdock. When he was five years old, his mother died and he was then raised in the home of Morris Phelps. The Phelps moved from Jackson County, Missouri to Far West, Missouri to Nauvoo, Illinois, where Murdock was reunited with his father. After the Saints were driven out of Jackson county, he was baptized by his father in Clay county in the year 1834; he also passed through the mobbings and persecutions in Caldwell county. His father, after spending about five years on missions, married again, when John R. left Brother Baldwin and rejoined his father's family, with which he removed from Quincy to Nauvoo. Here he worked on the Prophet Joseph's farm about four years, and was still in the Prophet's employ at the time of the martyrdom; in the exodus from Nauvoo in 1846, John R. came west with Father Cornelius P. Lott. Mormon Battalion On his way to Utah he enlisted in The Mormon Battalion, and as a private in Company B with his older brother Orrice Clapp Murdock (1824-1915) he marched all the way to San Diego in California. After serving his time he made his way, in company with many other Battalion boys, to Great Salt Lake valley, and arrived on the present site of Salt Lake City, Oct. 12, 1847, after a tedious journey of twelve hundred miles with pack animals. He spent the winter in the "Old Fort" and married Almira H. Lott, daughter of Cornelius P. Lott. Wagon Captain In the spring of 1851 he settled in Lehi, Utah county, being one of the early settlers of that place; and among the several positions filled by him here was that of mayor of the city. In 1856 he took a most active part in rescuing the hand-cart companies, who were perishing in the snow storms. When he brought in some of the suffering emigrants he found the snow on the Big Mountain fifteen feet deep. To many of those who crossed the plains before the Union Pacific Railroad was built, the name of John R. Murdock is very familiar. He was sent east five times as a captain of Church trains after the poor, namely in 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864 and 1868. He also carried the mails from the Valley to Independence, Mo., as an employee of the B. Y. X. Company, and in that capacity he made two round trips to the States in 1857, in unprecedented short time. In 1858 he went to Omaha as an escort to Col. Thos. L. Kane, making the round trip of 2,120 miles with the same animals in 42 traveling days. He also brought trains of merchandise for Livingston & Bell in the early days. Altogether "Captain Murdock," as he was familiarly called in early days, made eleven round trips across the plains, and has brought more "Mormon" emigrants to Utah than any other leader. He is credited with making a better record than any other man known in bringing ox and mule trains across the plains and over the mountains. Beaver Utah LDS Church For a time Murdock served as the regional presiding bishop in Beaver County, Utah. Murdock was called to this position in 1864 and it was then that he first went to Beaver. Murdock served a total of eight terms in the Utah Territorial Legislature. He was a member of the Utah Constitutional Convention. He also served one term as a member of the Utah State House of Representatives. Murdock was the first president of the Beaver Stake when it was organized in 1869 and served in this position until 1891. He was later ordained a patriarch. As stake president, Murdock essentially ran the government operations in Beaver County while the Mormon-backed People's Party was in control. For example, in the 1870s, John Hunt was appointed as a sheriff of Beaver County largely because he was a People's Party supporter. Murdock was a member of the apportionment and boundaries committee of the 1895 Utah State Constitutional Convention. Murdock was closely involved with the movement to start a secondary school in Southern Utah, which is why when it was finally begun at Beaver it was named the Murdock Academy. This institution functioned as a branch of Brigham Young Academy, the predecessor of Brigham Young University. Burial Murdock died in Beaver. His is the largest grave marker in Mountain View Cemetery in Beaver. Immediately adjacent are markers for Mary Ellen Wolfenden Murdock and May Bain Murdock, two of his plural wives. At the behest of second wife Wolfenden, the location is some distance away from the grave of Almira Henrietta Lott Murdock (d. 1878), her bitter rival who preceded her in death. Marriage & Family During the exodus from Nauvoo to the west, Murdock lived with the Cornelius Lott family in Nauvoo; Murdock fell in love with and later married Lott's daughter Almira Henrietta Lott. The marriage of Murdock and Lott happened after the arrival in the Salt Lake Valley. Murdock later also married Mary Ellen Wolfenden and Margery Bain as plural wives. 1st Marriage: Almira Lott 2nd Marriage: Mary Ellen 3rd Marriage: Margery Bain * Zina Farnsworth (1871-) - Adopted Daughter* Vital Records Mormon Pioneer Travel Database * Mormon Battalion (1847) - Age 20 * Handcart Rescue Companies (1856) - Age 30 * John R. Murdock Company (1861) - age 34 * John R. Murdock Company (1862) - age 35 * John R. Murdock Company (1863) - age 36 * John R. Murdock Company (1864) - age 37 * John R. Murdock Company (1868) - age 41 References * Tanner, J. M. (1909) - Biographical Sketch of John Riggs * * Hezekiah Murdock Immigrant Ancestors * Ralph Chapman List of Famous Descendants Category:Beaver Stake member